The Life of Dudley Dursley
by CanadianFugitive
Summary: Dudley is extremely misunderstood. His cousin, Harry, has the looks, friends, talent, and reputation that Dudley could never have. But is Harry the only person with magic qualities in his family?
1. Dudley's Mission

Dudley sat down on his over-bed and began to reflect over the things that had happened in his life. Lately he had been doing this every night.  
  
Harry had gotten some kind of letter and went away to some magical school, leaving him with his parents and a pig's tail. Dudley was forced to continue life at Privet Lane as he always had, that is with the exception of Harry being gone. Sure he gave Harry a lot of gruff and he picked on him constantly, but truth is, he admired Harry. Harry was a lot skinnier and though he got nothing from the Dursley's other than being yelled at, he was very content. Now, Harry was free, on his own, doing whatever he liked. No one to boss him around or constantly remind him of how pathetic he was. Not to mention his cool new powers. It was the third year that Harry had been gone to Hogwart's and he would once again be returning to the endless grief thrown upon him by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Well, Dudley thought, I will try to be a lot nicer to Harry this year, that's for sure. Maybe Harry would even show him some cool magic.   
  
  
  
Dudley went to sleep dreaming of the relationship that could develop between Harry and himself this summer. When he awoke it was extremely late and Harry had already arrived. Dudley came downstairs still half asleep and sat down at the table. Harry was giving him an ice-cold stare. "Hmmm… wonder what he's upset about," thought Dudley. Well, I'm going to work on my new mission starting today. He noticed that he had an exceptionally large portion of eggs while Harry had very little. In an effort to be nice to Harry, Dudley attempted to shuffle some of his eggs onto Harry's plate, but his massive hands more of flung them and they landed right on Mr. Dursley's brand new suit.  
  
"Great!!! Just Great!!" Vernon yelled, "Look at what you've done Harry!!"  
  
"Me!?! It was that great lug of a son you have," Harry retorted.  
  
"Watch your mouth boy or you'll be back in the closet!!!" Vernon hollered.  
  
"Wait Dad, it's not Harry's fault, it's mine. It was an accident. I'm sorry," Dudley sputtered.  
  
"Ohh, Duddykins, you really don't have to cover for Harry's blunders. It's awfully sweet of you though honey. We'll have to buy you another extra special present," Petunia said as she and Vernon left the room to search for something he could wear to work.  
  
" Thanks a lot Dudley." Harry said crossly  
  
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Dudley asked.  
  
"Oh, don't play stupid. You're back to your old tricks again. But remember I've got my wand upstairs and I got Hagrid to teach me that little pig-tail spell!" Harry said as he marched up the stairs, leaving Dudley thinking that this mission of his would be a lot harder than he thought. 


	2. Dudley's Under a Spell

It seemed like no matter what Dudley did he couldn't get Harry to like him. He was extremely clumsy and messed up most of his attempts to establish a friendship with Harry. It was also becoming increasingly harder to sleep at night because after every botched attempt Harry's threats became scarier.   
  
One night after dinner, the Dursley's and Harry where all joined in the living room and Uncle Vernon was going over his usual spiel about how awful it was to be related to a freak and how lucky Harry was to have such a great and caring family like the Dursleys. Dudley decided he would speak up for Harry.  
  
"Harry's really not all that bad dad, he's kind of neat actually," Dudley said.  
  
"What!!! What's this! You've put a spell on Dudley haven't you! You ungrateful little demon! You take that spell off right now or else!!!," Uncle Vernon spit through an uptight jaw and an unusually red face.  
  
"I didn't put a spell on Dudley, I wouldn't waste my magic!" Harry said trying to control his rising anger. Dudley was just trying to get him locked in that closet again. But there was no way he was going to let Dudley win, not a chance.  
  
"Dad, I'm not under a spell, honest." Dudley said trying to calm his father and smile at Harry at the same time. Every time he tried to be nice to Harry in front of his parents they always got upset. He was going to have to re-think his approach to this whole thing.  
  
"Dudley, you don't know what you're talking about, you're under a spell. Harry, take off the spell or you'll be out of here so fast you won't even be able to blink." Uncle Vernon said getting all the angrier and spitting everywhere like Hermione's cat, Crookshanks.  
  
"Hmmm.." Harry thought. "Maybe I can use this to my advantage." He had just received the letter from Ron seeing if he could go to the World Cup with them and he was almost positive that he could do nothing to get Uncle Vernon to let him go.  
  
"Ok," Harry said," On one condition, you have to let me go to the World Cup this summer with my friend Ron."  
  
"What! You're in no position to be negotiating anything! Take off the spell now!!!" Uncle Vernon roared.  
  
"Well, in that case the spell will just keep getting worse and worse and I'm sure my god-father would be extremely upset at my missing out on childhood fun," Harry said sarcastically. He knew he had touched a nerve. The red from his face began to fade and was replaced with a drained white that clearly told of his fear of this situation.  
  
"Well, fine. Take the spell of and you can go," Uncle Vernon said trying to sound calm.  
  
"Ok, no problem," Harry said. He'd just have to make something up. He looked into Dudley's eyes   
  
and said in a loud clear voice," Hocus pocus, there it's off." Then he ran up stairs to pack before Uncle Vernon could change his mind, leaving Uncle Vernon satisfied and getting rid of Harry for the summer and leaving Dudley confused. 


	3. Ton Tongue Toffee

It was the day that Harry was leaving to go with his friends to the World Cup. Dudley figured he would give his mission one last try before admitting defeat. He made his way up to Harry's room.  
  
"Do you need any help bringing your trunk down?" Dudley asked.  
  
"No way, you'll just break it or throw it down the stairs." Harry said.  
  
"No I won't, I just want to help. I thought we could make amends and be friends." Dudley said quietly.  
  
"Ha! Us, be friends? Don't make me laugh!" Harry said chuckling as he made his way downstairs. Dudley could do nothing but follow and admit his plan hadn't worked.   
  
Harry and the Dursley's all sat in the living room. Uncle Vernon in his best suit with a pompous air about him, Aunt Petunia in a slimming dress and not a single hair out of place with a sneer on her face, Dudley saddened by the fact that his plan hadn't worked and thinking of another way to go about it, and Harry anxious to leave. The Weasley's finally arrived to get Harry. Dudley noticed that as they were leaving the twins had dropped a piece of candy. Dudley, hungry from trying to give Harry his food all summer, picked it up and put it in his mouth. It tasted very funny. Before he knew what was happening his tongue began to swell. Before Mr. Weasley could fix it, it was half the length of the living room.   
  
After all of the Weasley's had gone, Dudley began to laugh. He thought it was really funny. But he stopped because the look in his father's eyes told him that he didn't find it the least bit funny and his mother was hiding in the kitchen lest his tongue start growing again. Dudley decided he might as well go to sleep and wait for the next day that he was sure wouldn't be much better. 


	4. The Letter

It was only a couple of weeks until summer was going to be over. Petunia was huddled over Dudley scooping more food onto her plate when Vernon walked in with the day's mail and sat down to enjoy his coffee. As he drank he went through the mail. Junk, junk, electric bill, birthday card for Petunia, and then Vernon spat his coffee out all over the place.  
  
"What is it Vernon," Petunia asked aggravated that he had made a mess in her clean house.  
  
"It's a letter from that damn school!" Vernon said stuttering.  
  
"Really, why would they send that junk here if Harry's gone. Those people are supposed to know everything," Petunia said with disgust.  
  
"It's not for Harry," Vernon said as his face began to get even paler.  
  
"Really, then who's it for? Surely not Duddykins," Petunia said laughing at her own joke.  
  
"Actually, it is," Vernon said as he started to re-gain his composure. Petunia fainted as she looked over Vernon's shoulder to see whom the letter was addressed to.  
  
"Mom, mom! Wake up," Dudley said while shaking from head to toe.  
  
"Look at what you've done boy! You better hope this letter is just someone's idea of a joke. We have enough freaks in this family as it is!" Vernon said as he was reviving Petunia.   
  
  
  
Vernon revived Petunia and helped her to the couch so she could lay down. Dudley took the letter, tore it open, and began to read:  
  
Dear Dudley,  
  
We want to apologize for not giving you this letter sooner. We were not sure whether you where wizard material or not and if you could handle the responsibility. We have all come to the decision that we will give you a shot and invite you to attend Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We hope to see you at the beginning of the year.  
  
  
  
Yours Truly,  
  
Professor Dumbledore  
  
And the letter continued to tell him all of the material he needed and explained he would need extra supplies to make up for the years he missed so that he would be in his fourth year along with Harry and all of his friends. Dudley could not help but to smile. He had secretly always wanted to be like Harry and now he had his chance. He could make friends with Harry and Harry's friends. He would have a talent now too. He would be special as well, even though his parents were extremely upset. He would convince his parents to let him go. 


	5. Trip to Diagon Alley

Dudley avoided his parents over the next couple of days. Petunia stayed in bed all day and Vernon went to work early and came home late. Dudley was left to fend for himself. Because he had to feed himself he hardly ate. In only a few days of not eating Dudley had begun to rapidly loose weight. He was happy that he was loosing weight and actually began to exercise. He was determined to loose a lot of weight before going to Hogwart's, which he still wasn't sure if he could go or not. One night after Vernon had finished dinner and was sitting in the living room Dudley cornered him.  
  
"Dad, I really want to go to Hogwart's." Dudley said pleading.  
  
"Why would you want to be a freak?" Vernon asked trying to hold back his anger.  
  
"I wouldn't be a freak. I think it's the best thing for me. I know it would make me happy." Dudley replied calmly.  
  
"Fine, whatever Dudley. But if you go, you stay during the winter too. And I don't want to get any letter with you whining and asking me to come pick you up, because I won't." Vernon said firmly.  
  
"Thanks dad." Dudley said. "Can we get my school supplies soon?" He asked, not wanting to push his luck.  
  
"Yeah, we'll go Saturday. But don't mention a word of this to your mother. It'll break her heart." Vernon said sadly.  
  
"Ok dad." Dudley said making his way upstairs but not letting his father spoil the excitement he had.  
  
That Saturday Dudley and Vernon went to the Leaky Cauldron as the instructions on how to get to Diagon Alley said in his letter along with the list of the necessary school supplies.  
  
"I'm staying out here," Vernon said firmly. "Here's some money, it shouldn't be more that." He said sounding defeated.   
  
Once inside the Leaky Cauldron, he found a nice young man that offered to take Dudley around Diagon Alley and show him what he needed and where he needed to go. First they went to Gringott's to exchange the money for wizard money. Then they went to get robes, and Dudley was extremely satisfied to see that he had lost quite a lot of weight and was down six clothes sizes. Then he went on to get his wand, books, and potion supplies he would need.  
  
"Do you want some kind of pet," the young man asked Dudley.  
  
"Well, I suppose so... I've always wanted my own pet, maybe something like a cat, I don't want a large noisy bird like Harry." Dudley said as the young man led him into the pet shop. After half an hour of debating over a tap dancing rat or a wise looking silver cat that looked like a small lion, he decided on the cat. As they where on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron when the young man started to strike up a conversation.  
  
"So, what are you going to name it?" the young man asked.  
  
"I will name HER Luna," he replied fondly, stoking the cat.  
  
"Like the moon?" the young man asked.  
  
"Yes, she's silver. It fits her." Dudley said smiling.  
  
Just then they reached the Leaky Cauldron. The young man stayed inside while Dudley went out to meet his father. His father seemed to have no comments as Dudley got in the car and didn't talk all the way home. The next day his father would be taking him to the train station so he could go to his new school. His excitement mounted and he hardly slept at all. But when he finally fell asleep his dreams where of his new friends and of finally getting Harry to be his friend. 


	6. Dudley and Harry

The next day Vernon took Dudley to the train station so he could board the Hogwart's Express. Dudley had seen Harry do it, so he had the gist of how to get onto Platform 9 and 3/4, but he watched a few other people go through the barrier before doing it himself. He then followed a girl, who looked like she knew where she was going, onto the train. Dudley opened several compartment doors looking for Harry, but when he couldn't find him he decided to wait until the train started to move, so he would know all the students where on board. He found an empty compartment, put up his trunk, left Luna in her cage because she was asleep, and sat back to enjoy the ride. Not too much later the compartment door slid open and revealed Harry and his friends.  
  
"Do you mind if we sit in here, everywhere else is full?," Harry asked.  
  
"No Harry, I'd love you to sit in here with me. Your friends are welcome also." Dudley said smiling.  
  
"How does he know my name?" Harry whispered to Ron.  
  
"Dunno, must be the scar," Ron replied shrugging.  
  
They all put up their trunks and sat down.  
  
"Hello there, my name's Hermione. This is Ron and I guess you know Harry," Hermione said smiling.  
  
"Oh yes, I've heard a lot about you from Harry. My name's Dudley, Dudley Dursley." Dudley said back  
  
"What....what...no way...you can't be....Dudley?" Harry stuttered as all three of them stared in bewilderment.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. I lost some weight this summer, I guess you didn't recognize me," Dudley said smiling at the fact that he looked so different that Harry didn't even recognize him.  
  
"Wha...wha...what are you doing here?" Harry asked completely shocked.  
  
"Oh, right, well I got a letter from that Dumbledore man saying I could go to school at Hogwart's also. He said that if I took classes during the evening's as well that I could make up for the first three years. This is going to be really great isn't it?" Dudley said extremely pleased.  
  
"He doesn't look quite so tough," Hermione whispered to Ron.  
  
" I dunno, the way Harry described him I thought he was Satan's child or something," he said looking at Harry questioningly.   
  
" I can't believe this! How could you get in here you big oaf?" Harry said crossly, still shocked.  
  
"Harry, be nice." Hermione said still confused.  
  
"Harry, I just want to be friends." Dudley said pleadingly.  
  
"No! You just want to ruin my life!" Harry yelled.  
  
"No, honestly. I just want to be friends," Dudley said, no longer looking quite as pleased.  
  
"I said NO! Who would ever want to be friends with a great big jerk like you," Harry yelled.  
  
"I would," said a malicious voice, revealing Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing in the door that Harry had neglected to close. "You really should stand up for yourself, Potter here thinks he's better than everyone. You should come sit in our compartment. We would enjoy you're company. Any enemy of Harry's is a friend of mine." Malfoy said to Dudley.  
  
"Ok then," Dudley said. Crabbe and Goyle grabbed the trunk Dudley pointed out as his and began to leave. Just before he was out the door, he turned to Harry and said coolly, "Well, I did try. Whatever becomes of this, it's your fault," and then he left.  
  
"Great, now we've got another enemy." Ron said with his brows furrowed.  
  
"Yeah Harry, plus he didn't look all that bad. I think he really wanted to be your friend." Hermione said angrily.  
  
Harry banged his head on the wall and remained quiet throughout the rest of trip, thinking about how this would affect him. 


	7. Dudley makes a new friend

Dudley had finally made some real friends. Sure he was sorry that things didn't work out with Harry, but it wasn't his fault. He had made a huge effort and Harry just didn't want to be friends. He grinned as he followed Malfoy into their compartment. They all sat down and Malfoy bought a few goodies from the witch traveling through the hall, and distributed them among the four of them.  
  
"Gee, thanks." Dudley said eating a chocolate frog.  
  
"No problem," Malfoy said, "that's what friends are for. I'm Draco Malfoy, but I go by Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle. So, what where you doing in there with Potty and his groupies in the first place?  
  
"Oh, well, Harry's my cousin," Dudley said nonchalantly.   
  
"Oh really," Malfoy said as a huge grin spread over his face, "So you would know all about his dirty secrets and how to pop his extremely inflated head?"  
  
"I suppose so," Dudley said as he looked in amazement as the picture on the card he got from the chocolate frog began to wave.  
  
" That's good. So have you thought about what house you want to be in?" Malfoy asked.  
  
"What? Umm.. I'm not sure what you mean." Dudley said looking confused.  
  
" Oh, Harry didn't explain. Go figure. He only cares about himself. Well, in Hogwart's there are four houses, kind of like four different schools inside one. There are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. Crabbe, Goyle, and myself are in Slytherin, that's the best house there is. The Sorting Hat picks what house you go into, but as long as you sort of tell it what house you want to be in, you usually always get in."  
  
"Oh right, I read all about that in "Hogwart's, A history. I'm not sure which house I want to be in." Dudley said remembering.  
  
" Well, you should be in Slytherin with all of us. Professor Snape is in charge and he's great. He loves all Slytherin's and hates Potter." Malfoy said grinning.  
  
" Yeah, I guess. It sounds cool." Dudley said starting to grin as well.  
  
"You know, I think you and I will hit it off real well. You're much smarter than Crabbe and Goyle so it wont' be as hard to explain everything to you." Malfoy said looking at Crabbe and Goyle with a slight sneer.  
  
"Umm..right, thanks." Dudley said. They continued talking about different things about the school until the end of trip when they got out to get into the carriages.  
  
"Well, there's obviously not enough room for all of us. Especially with you two lugs," Malfoy said looking at Crabbe and Goyle, "Dudley and I will go in this one, you two go in the one behind us." And they got into their carriages and made their way to the school. 


	8. Dudley's Sorted

The carriages pulled up outside of the school and Dudley and Malfoy, soon joined by Crabbe and Goyle, entered the school. Professor Flitwick was standing at the top of the long staircase that led to the Great Hall.  
  
"Oh my, you must be Dudley, correct?" Professor Flitwick asked over hearing Malfoy say his name.  
  
"Yes, that's me." Dudley replied studying the man that stood before him.  
  
"Well, I'm Professor Flitwick. Professor Dumbledore wanted me to take you aside and have you sorted before the first years," Professor Flitwick said with a smile, "Come with me please."  
  
"Good luck, I'll save you a spot. Remember-Slytherin." Malfoy said.  
  
And Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle went into the Great Hall as Dudley followed Professor Flitwick into a classroom and then an office. Professor Flitwick conjured up a chair with his wand and gestured at it for Dudley to sit down. So he did and at the same time Professor Flitwick pulled a very strange looking hat off of his desk.  
  
"Oh, so this is him. This is Harry Potter's cousin?" the Sorting Hat said as Dudley gasped in amazement.  
  
"Yes, yes, this is him. Dudley Dursley. Ok Dudley, I'm going to put this hat on your head and then it will sort you into your house," Professor Flitwick said as he slipped the hat onto Dudley's head.  
  
"Hmmm...yes....oh yes indeed...well he is an interesting one too....which house for him...hmm...Hufflepuff maybe..." the Sorting Hat murmured.  
  
"Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin," Dudley whispered.  
  
"Hmm...well...I don't know about that...Slytherin is a tough one..well, if you're quite sure..." the Sorting Hat said questionably.  
  
"Yes yes, I'm sure. Slytherin." Dudley said pleadingly.  
  
"Oh, well, alright then. SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat yelled.  
  
"No need to scream, you're not in the Great Hall yet," Professor Flitwick said shaking his head, "Which reminds me, we really need to hurry. I'm sure the first years are growing testy and the other professors won't want to be held waiting on the day before classes."  
  
And then he led Dudley into the Great Hall still holding the Sorting Hat. Dudley saw Malfoy motioning to him and went to sit by him, unaware that Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched Dudley go sit down at the Slytherin table. The Sorting began and soon all of the students had been sorted into their houses. The feast began and soon after everyone sat back in their chairs completely full, Professor Dumbledore gave his usual speech. Then Dudley followed Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle down a flight of stairs and right up to a picture. Suddenly the picture came to life.  
  
"Password?" the picture said grinning at Malfoy, who he recognized from the previous years.  
  
"Frazzled twigs," Malfoy said as the picture swung open. The four of the walked inside. Then Malfoy said with amusement in his voice, "That picture comes up with the stupidest passwords." Crabbe and Goyle nodded.   
  
"This is the Common Room," Malfoy said to Dudley when he noticed him looking around in awe.  
  
Crabbe yawned.  
  
"I'm tired," he said.  
  
"Me too, I'm going to bed." said Goyle.  
  
"Well, it is getting late and tomorrow's the first day of classes, so we might as well get a good night's rest. I'll need all my energy just to laugh at how lame Potter is." Malfoy said. They went up another small flight of stairs into a bedroom, changed out of their robes and into their pajamas, then slipped into bed, and fell asleep. 


	9. Dudley meets Hermione

The next day Dudley, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle dressed and made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. As they were eating, their schedules were passed out to them.   
  
"Oh great," Malfoy said sarcastically, "All our classes are with Gryffindor today."  
  
After they finished eating they made their way to their first class.  
  
"Oh, wait, I left my book at the table," Dudley said as he hurried back into the Great Hall."  
  
He reached the table, grabbed his book, and was leaving when he ran into Hermione.  
  
"Hermione, right?" Dudley asked smiling.  
  
"Yeah, and you're Dudley. Well, I just wanted to say sorry for how Harry behaved the other day." Hermione said smiling.  
  
"Oh, well it's not your fault. I've been trying all summer to make peace with Harry, but I guess it's just too late." Dudley said shrugging. At that moment Malfoy came running up.  
  
"What are you doing here Granger? Shouldn't you be brushing those giant teeth of yours?" Malfoy sniggered, "And you, we're going to have to apparate to class at the rate you're going.  
  
"You can't apparate in Hogwart's," Dudley and Hermione said sounding exasperated. They grinned at each other.  
  
"We're going to be late, let's go Dudley," Malfoy said, not happy at being corrected, especially by two people at once. Dudley and Malfoy left the Great Hall, but before Dudley was completely out of the door, Dudley turned back and smiled at Hermione.  
  
"Now what was that all about?" said Ron as he and Harry came up next to her.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Hermione said, "Let's get to class before we're late." Then they too left, heading towards their next class. 


	10. Dudley's First Day

Dudley, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle made their way to the dungeon for their Double Potions lesson. Malfoy and Dudley sat at one desk while Crabbe and Goyle sat in the one behind them. Professor Snape stood at the head of the class, searching the room. He grinned when he got to Malfoy.   
  
"And who are you?" Snape said menacingly.  
  
"My name is Dudley, Dudley Dursley," he said reproachfully.  
  
"He's new," Malfoy said happily, "He's in Slytherin."  
  
"Yes, so I heard." Snape said as he continued to search the room, when he came upon Harry he said, "So Potter, you're cousin has decided to make an appearance. I hope his head isn't as swelled as yours." And Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and even Dudley couldn't help but to grin. Snape began to tell them about the potion they were to make today and then left them to do it themselves. Malfoy, thinking it was his responsibility to take Dudley under his wing, helped Dudley to make a perfect potion just like him. Soon the class was over, they turned in their work, and left the classroom. They made their way out onto the grounds for their Care for Magical Creatures lesson.  
  
"This big oaf has no idea what he's doing," Malfoy said looking in the direction of Hagrid. Dudley, remembering him as the one who had given him the pig tail, did not smile.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Malfoy as he noticed Dudley's paler than usual complexion.  
  
"Umm.. well, I had a run in with him a few years ago, and..well...I'd prefer not to do it again." Dudley said slightly afraid. The four of them took their usual positions at the back of the class, only speaking to insult another student or Hagrid's lesson. So Hagrid didn't seem to notice him at all. To the great relief of Dudley, the lesson was rapidly over. They then made their way back to the Great Hall for lunch.  
  
"Well, after lunch we have Defense Against the Dark Arts with that crazy old Mad Eye Moody. My father says the Ministry would lock him up if it weren't for Dumbledore's vouching for him. Dumbledore has a soft spot for rejects. Look at that Potter for example, always breaking the rules but he's never in trouble." Malfoy said looking frostily at Harry.   
  
After lunch, they made their way up to their next class. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle didn't enjoy the class any more than Harry enjoyed potions. They always seemed to get teachers that didn't condone their sucking up when it came to this subject. However, Dudley enjoyed the class immensely. Perhaps it was because ever time a question was asked his hand shot up, which received approving smiles from Hermione, the only other hand that was voluntarily raised.  
  
That concluded classes for the day, at least for Malfoy and his goons. After Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dudley had to take remedial classes in every subject to make up for the first three years he had missed. Dudley made no complaints, he took in everything and enjoyed it. He was a really good student now that he was doing something he enjoyed. Dudley got back to the common room at midnight and let Luna out so she could hunt on the grounds, and then changed his clothes and crawled into bed. 


	11. Dudley's Crush

*I skipped a chapter but I will put it in eventually, it's on my computer which is in storage so please bare with me. Anyways, all you need to know is that the other  
  
schools arrived and the champions were named*  
  
Dudley was up in his dorm still pondering the events that had occurred recently. His friend Cedric Diggory had been named the school champion. But then in a weird twist Harry had also been named school champion, only no one was happy for Harry; that is except the people that were amazed and curious about how he had gotten past the age restriction on the Goblet of Fire. Dudley was tired of just sitting around trying to figure the whole thing out. It was a lovely night, the moon was bright and illuminated the grounds. Dudley decided that he would go look for Luna, he hadn't seen her for a few days. When he got to the grounds he noticed that he wasn't alone, he turned around and ran right into Hermione.  
  
"Hi," she said pleasantly, "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"I'm looking for my cat." Dudley said proudly.  
  
"Oh, me to. Crookshanks has been gone for days. Maybe our cats are hunting together." She said smiling.  
  
"Who knows, maybe. It is getting kind of late. Can I walk you back to your house?" Dudley asked shyly.  
  
"Well, you're not really supposed to tell other's the way to your house, but I guess it would be okay." she replied.  
  
Dudley walked Hermione up to the portrait of the fat lady, said a polite goodnight, and went off towards his house. Hermione opened the portrait only to discover Ron and Harry with their ears pressed against the painting.  
  
"What were you doing with Dudley?" Harry asked rather cross.  
  
"We ran into each other outside and he offered to walk me back." Hermione said grinning.  
  
"But you're not suppose to show people in different houses where yours is." Ron said stuttering.  
  
"Come on, live a little," Hermione said, and with a wink she went to her room, leaving Harry and Ron staring after with their mouths hanging wide open.  
  
  
  
"Hemione? Breaking a rule? This is serious Harry! Maybe she's sick, maybe we should take her to Madam Pomfrey?" Ron said questioningly.  
  
"Maybe she is. Or maybe he cast a spell on her." Harry said seriously.  
  
"Oh, come off it Harry." Ron said rolling his eyes.  
  
"No, I'm serious. I know he's up to no good. Think about it. He's become one of the smartest kids in Hogwart's, he's popular enough to hang around with Cedric, and now Hermione is pinning away after him. Maybe Lord Voldermort has sent him after me. Maybe Voldermort is inhabiting his body." Harry said worriedly. At the sound of Voldermort's name Ron shivered.  
  
"Oh, Harry! Honestly! You can't possibly believe that." Ron said crossing his arms.  
  
"And why not? It's possible!" He said angrily.  
  
"No it's not! You're just jealous that he's become more popular than the great Harry Potter." Ron shot at him. He was becoming upset. Harry wouldn't admit how he had gotten past the Goblet of Fire and now he was making up ludicrous stories about his cousin. Ron couldn't just not say anything anymore.  
  
"If anyone's jealous it's you that's jealous of me!" Harry retorted almost yelling.  
  
"Yeah right, you go ahead and think that everyone is jealous of you and you're ugly scar. No wonder Cho doesn't like you, all there is to look at is that ugly scar." Ron shot back, turning his nose up at Harry.  
  
"Take it back!" Harry yelled, and when Ron shook his head and laughed, Harry slugged him in the face.  
  
"What the bloody hell did you hit me for?!? I'm sure your fan club would love to hear how violent you are." And with that Ron turned his back to Harry and stomped up the stairs to their room, leaving Harry completely alone. (This would mark the beginning of the huge fight they had that year.) 


	12. Dudley's Present

To Dudley's great surprise he received a letter from his father. Despite what he had said, Vernon and Petunia missed him greatly and wanted him home for the Christmas holidays. He would be returning home. He was slightly disappointed. Most of his friends were going home as well, but a few were staying and he wanted to hang out with them.  
  
He had purchased a book from Hogsmeade on their last trip, it was a silver bound book, the updated version of Hogwart's, A History. He had wrapped it carefully and headed down to the Great Hall. After wishing Cedric good luck and a Merry Christmas he made his way to where Hermione was standing and produced the present.  
  
"Wow, is this for me?" She asked smiling.  
  
"Yeah, it's nothing too special, just a little something I thought you might like. I'm going home for Christmas so I wanted to give it to you before I left," He said grinning as she ripped off the wrapping paper.  
  
"This is sooo great! I've been wanting to get this ever since it came out. Thank you so much." She exclaimed and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
His smile had gone from big to ear to ear. "Well, umm.. I better be going. Merry Christmas." He turned and stumbled down the hall and out the door to the grounds.  
  
"Now what was that all about?" Ron said smiling as he walked up to her.  
  
"It was none of your business, that's what. But if you must know he gave me a Christmas present."  
  
"Oh, how sweet. I think he's quite smitten with you." He said grinning.   
  
"Oh shut up." She said as she walked away from him.  
  
*______________________________________________________________________*  
  
Dudley got on the train and had a whole compartment to himself. Most of the students were staying because of the tournament. He, now after their run in, wanted to stay as well. He liked Hermione. He wouldn't admit it to the other Slytherins but he had told Cedric. Cedric promised when he got back after Christmas he would help him win her over. Dudley had after all helped to set him up with Cho, it was the least he could do. Dudley sat back and smiled thinking about Hermione and wondering if Cedric could really help him to impress her. It was worth a shot. He fell asleep, and stayed asleep all the way to King's Cross. 


	13. Dudley Comes Home

When the Hogwart's Express pulled up to the station, he saw his father almost immediately. He was extremely surprised. He had come through the barrier to meet Dudley instead of waiting by his car or on the other side.  
  
"Well, come now Dudley. We can't keep your mother waiting too long. We've missed you terribly." Vernon said grabbing Dudley's bag and hauling it through the barrier and into the car.  
  
On the whole way home Vernon talked about work, and life at Privet Drive. Life for his parents had been kind of lonely since he had gone away, but he said they had come to understand his decision and respect his wishes to study magic. Dudley thought it was extremely strange that his parents were changing their views on what the deemed freaks, but if they weren't going to dwell on it neither was he. His mother met him at the door and gave him a huge hug.  
  
"My Dudley, you certainly have lost a lot of weight. You look like a stick." Petunia said staring at him, she had always disapproved of under nourished people. She liked a man with meat on his bones though she, herself, was extremely petite.  
  
"We have a surprise for you in the morning Dudley, but you should get some rest. You must be extremely tired after that long trip." Vernon said ushering him up stairs. Dudley was tired despite his nap on the train. He went up stairs and slept all the way through the night. When he awoke in the morning he washed up and went downstairs.  
  
"We're going to take a little trip Duddykins," his mother said in an unnaturally sweet voice. The three of them loaded into the car and headed off towards town. They pulled up in a parking lot of a large white building. There was a large electric fence going all the way around. The got out of the car and headed inside. There, Petunia went up to a receptionist who had a scowling look on her face.  
  
"Dursleys here to see Dr. Smith." Petunia said t the woman, who in turn spoke quietly into the phone.  
  
"Is something wrong? Is someone sick?" Dudley asked wondering why they were going to see a doctor.  
  
"Just you wait boy. Everything will be fine." Vernon said smiling mischievously.   
  
A man in a long white coat came out of a door and walked up to the Dursleys.  
  
"You must be Dudley," the man said holding out his hand. Dudley took it and the man pulled him forward looking him straight in the eye. "Follow me please." He said and was off to the door he had just come from. The entered a small room. The walls were white and only a single picture hung on the wall. There were three chairs and a table like thing set in the middle of the room. "Come over here." He said motioning at the table. Dudley came over and sat on the large table. "Lie down and relax," he said, so Dudley did. Before Dudley noticed what was happening the man had fastened his arms and legs to the table with metal restraints.  
  
"What the bloody hell is going on here?!?" Dudley yelled trying to pry himself free of the table.  
  
"You need to get better Duddykins," Petunia said with a lump in her throat and a tear forming in the corner of her eye.  
  
"What! I'm not even sick.! Why are you doing this?" Dudley roared. The doctor came back over to him and injected a needle into his arm.  
  
"Owh! What was.."Dudley started to ask but fell asleep almost immediately. When he woke his parents were gone and the strange doctor was sitting in a chair staring at him.  
  
"All better?" he asked.  
  
"No, now will someone please tell me what's going on. Let me go." Dudley said his temper rising.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Your parents brought you here to get better and you can't leave until you're cured."  
  
"But I'm not even sick." Dudley said.  
  
"Oh, my dear boy, you are. You are a normal kid, not some king of, let's see what did your parents call it..oh yes I remember, wizard. You are hallucinating. You are mentally unhealthy. We need to fix you up straight away."  
  
Dudley sighed exasperatedly. He knew his parent's new outlook had been to good to be true. But what was he going to do? He needed to get out of here. But even if he managed to do that, where would he go? Well, I'll just play along then, he thought.  
  
"Wizard. What is a wizard?" Dudley asked with a questioning look on his face.  
  
"Ah hah, see it's working already. I knew that shot would do the trick." The doctor said excitedly. "Ok, let's try this, who are you?  
  
"I'm Dudley Dursley. I live on Privet Drive and attend a public school with my friends." Dudley replied rolling his eyes when the doctor had turned his back to him.  
  
"I see…My this is wonderful. Your parents will be thrilled." With that he scuttled out the door. In almost no time at all the doctor was back accompanied by his parents.  
  
"Oh Dudley, are you feeling better?" his mother asked.  
  
"Oh yes. Much better. Can we go home please. I really want to watch t.v. there's supposed to be a football game on tonight." Dudley said pleadingly.  
  
"Of course," Vernon said smiling. He shook the doctor's hand as a nurse removed the restraints from Dudley. Vernon and Petunia began to talk with the doctor and thanking him for curing their son. Dudley slipped out of the door before anyone noticed. He ran through a hall and out the door that led to the reception area, and all the way outside. He waved down a taxi and headed for home. He had the taxi wait as he grabbed his trunk, wand, Luna, and Vernon's wallet that he had left on the counter. He jumped back into the cab and had the taxi drop him off at a motel not far from the train station. 


	14. Dudley Returns to Hogwarts

Dudley stayed in the motel throughout Christmas break. He used the money he had taken from his father's wallet to pay for that and all of his meals. When it was time to return to Hogwart's he flagged down another taxi and had it take him to the train station. He arrived at Hogwart's with the other students and headed up to his common room. He was stopped by Cedric.  
  
  
  
"Dudley, there's something I have to tell you," Cedric said.  
  
"Sure, anything." Dudley said wondering what all this was about.  
  
"Well, you know how you kinda like Hermione?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah," Dudley replied.  
  
"Well, she kinda likes someone else." He said not wanting to meet Dudley's eyes.  
  
"Really?," he asked, "Who?"  
  
"Well, you know the Durmstang champion, Viktor Krum?"  
  
"She likes that big oaf? How do you know?" Dudley asked deeply saddened.  
  
"Well, he asked her to this ball and she said yes, and they were all over each other." He said.  
  
"Oh," Dudley said disappointed, "Thanks for telling me."   
  
"No problem buddy. Well, I have to go meet Cho but I'll catch you later?" Cedric asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Dudley said. Cedric gave him a pat on the back and went off down the corridor. On Dudley's way to the Great Hall for dinner he ran into Hermione.  
  
"Oh, Dudley, how are?" She asked smiling.  
  
"Just great. How's Viktor?" He asked sarcastically. He didn't even wait for an answer but turned and went to sit down at the Slytherin table were he was greeted by Malfoy.  
  
"I told you, filthy little mudblood can't keep her hands to herself." Malfoy said sneering.  
  
"Yeah, right." He said. He sat there barely touching his plate as Malfoy regaled everyone within ear shot of all the wonderful presents he had received. After dinner he went up to his dorm room and lied on his bed, awake, until morning. 


	15. Someone New

Dudley lay in bed thinking long and hard about the situation. He liked Hermione but she liked Krum. How could he compete with a world famous Quidditch player? He couldn't. But then, who needed Hermione anyway? There were plenty of girls that flirted with Dudley. If he pursued it further with anyone of them it could work out for him. That's would he would do. He'll find someone else and someone much prettier at that. He thought about all the girls that hung out around him and Cedric. One girl in particular jumped into his mind. Lorn was a smart and very pretty girl. She was in Ravenclaw and a good friend of Cho's. Cedric could help him out with her for sure.  
  
He got up feeling much better than the previous day. He made his way down the corridor to the Great Hall and noticed Cedric was standing in their usual spot over by the stairs. We walked over to him.  
  
"Hey Ced, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" He asked.  
  
"Sure, be right back," He told Cho as she removed her arm from around his waist. They walked back a little further so that no one else would notice them or hear them.  
  
"Hey, look Dudley. I'm sorry about this whole Hermione thing." Cedric said shrugging.  
  
"Oh, no problem. Forget about it." Dudley started to say.  
  
"Let me guess, there's someone new. Tell me about her bud. Who is it? Want me to help?" Cedric put in.  
  
"Yeah, there is someone else. Lorn." Dudley said looking at his feet.  
  
"Oh, yes. She is pretty. I'm sure I could put in a few good words. Plus she's a good friend of Cho's and Cho thinks you're great. I'm sure she'd be glad to help set you up. Girls love doing that kind of stuff, you know? The whole matchmaker bit." Cedric said smiling.  
  
"Thanks." Dudley said looking up at his friend.  
  
"Don't mention it." Cedric said grinning. They walked back over to the group; Cedric pulled Cho away from the group.  
  
"Hey, can you do me a huge favor?" Cedric asked.  
  
"Anything. What is it?" Cho asked.  
  
"You know Dudley?" Cedric asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, he's a great guy. What does this have to do with him?" She asked curiously.   
  
"Well, he kinda has a crush on your friend Lorn." Cedric said.  
  
"He does? How cute. I'm pretty sure she likes him too." She squealed happily.  
  
"Well, maybe you could talk to her. You know, see what she thinks of him?" Cedric said smiling.  
  
"No problem." She said smiling, "I think they'd look cute together."  
  
They returned to the group. Dudley and Cedric made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast and Cho and Lorn hung back because Cho had said she had needed to talk to her.  
  
"So, is there anyone you're interested in lately?" Cho asked.  
  
"What do you mean interested?" Lorn replied.  
  
"You know, someone you like, have a crush on." Cho said.  
  
"Oh, yeah. There are a couple of guys that I like. Cedric's friend Dudley the most though. He's really sweet and smart to. I think the Sorting Hat made a big mistake when they put him in Syltherin, he should've been put in Ravenclaw. Why do you ask?" Lorn asked.  
  
"No reason. I'm really hungry. Let's get some breakfast." She said and with that they both walked into the Great Hall and sat down to eat.  
  
After breakfast she found Cedric and told him what Lorn had said.   
  
"I think he should ask her to go to the next Hogsmeade trip." She said smiling.  
  
"You think she's say yes?" He asked now smiling as well.  
  
"Definitely." She said. They held hands as he walked her to her next class. 


	16. Trip to Hogsmeade

It was a beautiful Wednesday morning. Not a single cloud was in the air and the sun was shining as brightly as ever. Dudley woke up early and headed out towards the library. Right in front of the library he ran straight into Lorn, scattering the books she was carrying out everywhere.  
  
"Oh geez, I'm really sorry." Dudley said picking up a book.  
  
"No, it's my fault. I wasn't looking at where I was going." Lorn said smiling.  
  
"Do you need help carrying these to your house?" Dudley asked.  
  
"Um…you're probably really busy, I don't want to be a bother." She said picking up the last book.  
  
"Nonsense." Dudley said grabbing a little over half the book from her. The continued a conversation about the material she was reading all the way up to the portrait that guarded Ravenclaw.  
  
"Thanks for helping me with these, it was real sweet of you." Lorn said turning to go in the doorway.  
  
He grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Would you like to go to the next Hogsmeade trip with me?" He asked shyly.  
  
She giggled. "Sure, I would love to." With that she turned and went into her common room leaving Dudley stunned. It was the first time he had ever asked a girl out before. More importantly it was the first time a girl had ever said yes.  
  
*______________________________________________________________________*  
  
Dudley managed to make it until the weekend. He was very excited about the Hogsmeade trip he would make with Lorn. When Cedric learned the good news he gave Dudley an extra hard slap on the back and told him he knew he could do it. Well, that moment had finally arrived. It was now time to get into the carriages. He wasn't able to be in a carriage with her, but they had agreed to meet outside of the Three Broomsticks and start things off with a nice butterbeer.  
  
When he got to the Three Broomsticks she was already there waiting.  
  
"Gosh, I thought maybe you forgot or you weren't coming." She said.  
  
"Oh no, it just took me a while to get around all of the people." Dudley said as he opened the door for her.  
  
"I'll get the Butterbeers and you get us a table." Dudley said. Lorn walked off to an empty table and Dudley was soon at the table with two Butterbeers.  
  
"I was really glad you asked me to come with you. I've liked you ever since Cedric introduced us, I was just to scared to say anything." Lorn said sheepishly among sips.  
  
"Really? I've liked you for a long time too." Dudley said grinning. They finished up their Butterbeers and started walking around Hogsmeade hand in hand. Dudley bought her a large chocolate bar and they headed towards the carriages. They managed to negotiate it to where they were in one together alone. Lorn laid her head on his shoulders and closed her eyes for the remaining time it took to get back to Hogwarts. He then walked her up to her house.  
  
"Well, I had a really good time today," she said happily.  
  
"Me too, maybe we could do it again sometime." Dudley said coyly.  
  
"Definitely." She said and with that she leaned in and before he knew it they were kissing. They only stopped later when a soft uh hmm… ruined the moment. Cho was standing behind them trying to get in.  
  
"Good night then." Lorn said.  
  
"Good night." Dudley said and he turned to leave as Lorn and Cho entered their house. Dudley was too happy to sleep. He walked outside around the edge of the grounds before finally heading up to bed. 


	17. A Change in Living

Dudley slept peacefully and soundly. When he awoke it was to find Malfoy sitting in a chair, staring at him intently. It was even more of a surprise that he was alone, his goons weren't there, no one was there.  
  
"Um… Can I help you with something?" Dudley asked.  
  
"You know you're a mudblood right?" Malfoy asked mischievously.   
  
"Yeah, so what's your point?" Dudley inquired.   
  
"Well, it was all good and fun for a while, but you're a real bore. You won't be one of my goons, you won't dish out dirt on Harry, and you're even hanging out with that brainless twit Cedric Diggory. You didn't honestly think that if you behaved like that you would stay in this house forever do you?" Malfoy asked.  
  
"First, Cedric isn't brainless; second if I could figure out how to get out of this house I'd do it in a heartbeat." Dudley said sitting up.  
  
"Well, I've talked with Snape and he agrees with me. He talked to Dumbledore and he said that all you'd have to do is go up to his office and request a change if that's what you really wanted. I think you should go straight away." Malfoy said glaring at him.  
  
"Fine, I will. But try to hide your enthusiasm, when you smile it screws up your face even worse than it already is." And with that Dudley got dressed and went to Dumbledore's office. The entrance was already open so he walked up the stairs, but paused at the door. He could hear someone in there with Dumbledore. A few seconds later Hagrid game out and Dumbledore seeing him standing there waves him in.  
  
"So, Dudley what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked smiling.  
  
"Well, professor, I was wondering about changing houses. Syltherin isn't exactly working out for me and they all seem to think the Sorting Hat made a mistake because of the fact that I'm a "mudblood." Dudley replied.  
  
"Ah, I have heard as much. Do you think it was a mistake?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Well, yes. I kinda of asked the Sorting Hat to put me in Slytherin because Malfoy told me too. But now I'm not so sure it's the best place for me." Dudley said.  
  
"Oh, well, I do agree with you on that. You don't belong in Slytherin, but not because you're what they call a "mudblood". You're a nice person and an exceptional student. The Sorting Hat is sleeping and will be until next year's sorting but I will sort you myself. There's only one place you belong and that's in….. 


	18. New Housing

Dudley was really excited he had just change houses. No more rude obnoxious Slytherins. He ran down the stairs of Dumbledore's office and down to the Great Hall where he knew his friends would be gathered. He saw them standing around and raced toward them.  
  
"You'll never guess what." Dudley said panting slightly.  
  
"What?" asked Cedric.  
  
"Dumbledore took me out of Slytherin." He said, now catching his breath.  
  
"Really, I don't think he's ever done that for anyone before," Cho said.  
  
"Well, Dudley didn't belong in Slytherin, Dumbledore must've known that from the beginning." Cedric said.  
  
"So where did they put you?" Lorn asked.  
  
"Ravenclaw," he nearly shouted. Lorn smile told him that she was ecstatic.  
  
"Really?" Cho asked, "That's great. You're really smart. You should definitely be in Ravenclaw."  
  
"Ah… I was hoping you would be in Hufflepuff. But that's ok. Congratulations Dudley." Cedric said patting him on the back.  
  
Dudley moved all his stuff from Slytherin to Ravenclaw. He was happy to find they were much friendlier and much more accepting than the Slytherins had been. He was even more glad that his move enabled him to spend more time with Lorn. They could sit together in the common room reading, studying, or just talking together. One night in particular they just sat there together, snuggled in front of the fire, not saying a word, just enjoying each other's company. 


	19. Fist Fight

It had been a trying year that was almost over. Dudley had been seeing Lorn for several months and they were extremely close. The Triwizard tournament was coming to a close, and not many people would be sorry to see the other schools leave, and things returning to "normal".  
  
It was an extremely difficult day for Dudley. He had been sick and had to miss a couple days of classes, so he had even more work to make up, especially with the first three years he had missed. With all of that work he had completely forgotten Lorn's birthday, and because of that, she wasn't speaking to him at the time. He was also late to Potions, a class he did not look forward to. In his rush, he ran straight into Harry, scattering his books everywhere. He hadn't been face to face with Harry for a while and he wasn't particularly thrilled to see him.  
  
"Why don't you watch where you're going," Dudley said aggravated and trying to pick up his books.  
  
"You're the one who ran into me," Harry replied, not sounding thrilled to see him either.  
  
"Whatever you say oh great one." Dudley said sarcastically.  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked perturbed.   
  
"Nothing, glory-snatcher." Dudley said grabbing his last book.  
  
"What in the bloody hell is that about?" Harry asked.  
  
"Think about it Harry. You're the great Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Yet you have to go and steal Cedric's glory and become the other school champion." Dudley said with disgust. Harry was so tired of people telling him that. He knocked the books right out of Dudley's hands.  
  
"Dammit Harry. I'm already late. Stupid attention hog!" Dudley said pushing Harry.  
  
"You would know all about that, with you sucking up to Cedric and trying to be his best buddy." Harry said sneering. With that, Dudley punched him square in the jaw. Harry threw a punch striking him in the stomach. Dudley gave him a bloody nose with a punch, and they went on exchanging blows until Professor Flitwick happened down the hall and caught the two of them, prying them apart with a spell from his wand.  
  
"This isn't over Potter!" Dudley spat.  
  
"Anytime!" Harry shot back.  
  
Dudley sat in Professor Flitwick's office cooling down.  
  
"This is so un-like you Dudley," Professor Flitwick said shaking his head.  
  
"I know Professor. I'm sorry." Dudley said looking down at his feet.  
  
"I have to take 5 points from each of your houses, but if you promise this won't happen again I won't give you detention." Flitwick said smiling. Dudley was one of his best students. He knew there was a lot of stress at the ending of the year and he was confident Dudley was by all means not a trouble maker.  
  
"I promise, no more fights." Dudley said.  
  
"Then you can go." Flitwick said. Dudley got up and made his way to the door. "And try to avoid Harry Potter please." Dudley nodded and left. 


	20. Final Triwizard Event

It was the day of the last event for the Triwizard tournament. Dudley was in the stands cheering on Cedric with Lorn, Cho, and the rest of Cedric's supporters. They saw a flare go up. And then another. They knew something must've gone wrong, but everyone in Hogwart's breathed a sigh of relief as Fleur and then Krum were brought out of the maze. While the majority of the school was rooting for Cedric, they were still pleased to know that both of their champions made it farther then the other school's had. But the all around cheer in the air faded as soon as they heard Harry's screams. Something was terribly wrong. All the teachers in the stands ran to the maze. Half of them stayed while the other half came back to deal with the crowd. They wanted everyone to return to their dorm rooms. All they would say is that someone was hurt, but that everyone should remain calm. Dudley and the girls joined the crowd in the march up to the castle. Cho was extremely upset, she didn't know what was going on and wanted to know where Cedric was, Lorn was trying to comfort her. Dudley noticed Harry and Professor Moody heading for the school as well. Dudley left the multitude and made his way to Harry.  
  
"Harry, where's Cedric?" Dudley asked running up to them.  
  
"Don't ask him any questions boy. He's terribly shook up." Moody growled at him.  
  
"He…he…he's gone." Harry said shaking.  
  
"That's enough Harry." Moody said silencing him.  
  
"What happened?" Dudley asked, trotting to keep up with the pace they were making.  
  
"I said no questions!" Moody yelled. "Go back with the other students!"  
  
Dudley hung back, thinking about what Harry had said. He watched the two of them disappear into the castle. Shortly afterward Dumbledore and a few other teachers approached Dudley.  
  
"What are you still doing out here? You should be in the castle with the others." Snape said coldly.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, sir, is it true? Is Cedric really dead?" Dudley asked stuttering.  
  
"I'm afraid it is true. Now, where did you hear this from?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Harry told me. He didn't really get to say much. Professor Moody was rushing him and wouldn't let him say anything.  
  
"Moody?" Professor McGoganall gasped.  
  
"This is very important," Dumbledore said, "where did they go?"  
  
Dudley was so upset and confused that all he could do was point towards the entrance of the castle that Harry and Moody had gone through. He continued to stand there stunned as all of the teachers ran by him up to the castle. He stumbled up to the castle where Cho and Lorn were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Well, what happened? Where did you go?" Lorn asked.  
  
"I…I saw Harry, and I went to…to…talk to him." Dudley said now calming down a little.  
  
"Well, what did he say? Does he know where Cedric is?" Lorn asked.  
  
"He…uhh…he said that Cedric's gone?" Dudley said as Lorn and Cho looked at him confusedly. Dudley lowered his head and muttered, "He's dead. Dumbledore said he was too." Cho broke out into tears. They walked up to their house where friends waited anxiously for news. No one was prepared for what Dudley told them and everyone tried to console Cho, who cried herself to sleep. 


	21. Going Home

It was the end of the school year. Dudley's first year at Hogwart's. He had done exceedingly well in all of his classes, even Potions. Altogether it hadn't been a bad year, at least academic wise. On the other hand, Dudley had lost the best friend he had made at Hogwarts. Cho was so depressed she hardly ever left her room, which meant Dudley hardly ever saw Lorn since she was consoling her friend.  
  
It was the very last day. The sky was clouded and the sun barely shown through them. It seemed like all the trees and flowers were bowing in respect for Cedric. As Dudley gat on the train Lorn ran up to him.  
  
"Hey Dudley! I need to talk to you." Lorn said catching her breath.  
  
"What's up?" Dudley said precatiously. Lorn wasn't smiling and he could tell whatever she was about to tell him wasn't good news.  
  
"Dudley, I can't see you anymore?" Lorn said looking down at her feet.  
  
"And why not?" Dudley asked irritated.  
  
"Because you were Cedric's friend, and you remind Cho of him, which makes her cry and so on and so forth. So as you can see, it really would be best. At least for now." Lorn said.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me?" Dudley said glaring at her, "Cedric was my friend and you don't see me asking you not to hang out around her."  
  
"Well, Cho and I have been friends forever. I'm sorry Dudley...this is just the way things have to be." She said as she headed down the train and shut the door of a compartment, which loud sobs could be heard coming out from.  
  
"You're really better off without her," a familiar voice from behind him said. Dudley turned to see Hermione. "If she was willing to give you up, then you weren't meant to be. There are lots of other girls."  
  
"Yeah, I know, I just thought...well nevermind." Dudley said sighing heavily.  
  
"I know. I thought the same thing about Viktor." She said blushing.  
  
"So that didn't work out for you?" Dudley asked. She shook her head in response. Dudley rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, I'm real sorry about being such a jerk to you."  
  
"Don't be. I deserved it." She said.  
  
"No you didn't. I was just jealous." Dudley said.  
  
"How about we just forget about it and start fresh?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Okay. This comparment is open. Want to sit with me?" Dudley asked.  
  
"Sure," Hermione said smiling.  
  
In the next compartment Ron had his ear pressed up against the wall. "What are you doing?" Harry asked as he threw a was of socks him.  
  
"Looks like Dudley and Hermione have patched things up." He said grinning at the look on Harry's face.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Harry said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Well, you've got to admit that Dudley's a big improvement over Viktor." Ron said pretending to go weak in the knees.  
  
"Let's talk about something else," Harry said as a tiny owl flew into their compartment buzzing around and hooting excitedly. 


	22. Old enimies, New Friends

Dudley completely forgot all about home on the train. He was so engrossed in his conversation with Hermione, it wasn't until she mentioned home that he remembered what he was going home to.  
  
"Great, home," he moaned.  
  
"Well, look at it this way, maybe you and Harry will get in some quality bonding time," she said smiling.  
  
"I'm sure that'll happen. I've tried, he just hates me," Dudley said straigh out.  
  
"Well, I'm sure things can't get any worse," She said as they pulled up to the train station. If only she knew how wrong she was, Dudley thought. As they were getting out of the train, he quickly said,  
  
"Do you mind if I write you this summer," Dudley kicked his foot in the dirt.  
  
"Sure, I'd like that. Maybe Harry will let you use Hedwig," she said.  
  
"I better get your address just in case,"Dudley said and Hermione copied it down on a piece of paper. She saw her parents, said a quick good-bye, and then took off. Dudley looked around but he couldn't see his parents anywhere.  
  
"I can't find your mum and dad," Harry said, not looking directly at Dudley.  
  
"I really didn't expect them to be here after what happened the last time I saw them," Dudley said.  
  
"What happened?" Harry asked, trying not to sound too curious. Dudley told him all about the mental hospital and how he had just ran out, and Harry burst out into laughter. "They really did that? I thought they would have done that to me a long time ago."  
  
"I guess we better take a taxi home." Dudley said. They flagged down a taxi that took them to that house that neither one of them were exactly thrilled to see. They paid the driver, got their bags, and made their way up to the house. Tacked onto the front door was a sign that read: "Gone for the summer, some food in the house, fend for yourselves."  
  
"Great, go figure they would just leave and not have to deal with me," Dudley said.  
  
"Deal with us," Harry corrected, "Look on the good side, we're home alone for the whole summer." They ventured into the house and it was pitch black. Dudley threw a light switch, but the light didn't go on. He went to the sink abd turned on the faucet but no water came out.  
  
"Lovely, the electricity and water are turned of. They sure weren't concerned about us," Harry said.  
  
"Looks like we're going to have to get jobs," Dudley said.  
  
"Well, we better start looking soon then. In the mean time we can pull the money we have together to get everything turned on." Harry said. He headed over to the fridge and opened the door. A rotten stench came out. "Things must have been turned off for a while, all the food in the fridge is rotten," he said as he pulled out a container of green and brown goo. The put their money togehter and had just enough to turn on the electricity, water, a week's worth of food, and a newspaper. They flipped through the pages as they ate their dinner that conisted of microwave noodles and chips.  
  
"Look, here's a good one," Harry said as he read, "Summer jobs perfect for teens, new restaraunt needs waiters and cooks, no experience needed, call asap."  
  
"Well, that one would be alright I guess." So they gave the manager a call and he said to come on down. Luckily the restaraunt wasn't too far away and there were two bikes in the garage. They headed on down and talked to the manager, who said they were hired and could start work the next day. They went home feeling good about the summer so far and went to sleep. 


	23. Dumbeldore's Visit

They woke up fairly early the next morning and had a bowl of cereal before going to work. Dudley was to help out in the kitchen until he learned enough to be a cook and Harry was a waiter. Things were pretty slow until lunch hour came and things got pretty hectic. Harry dropped two plates and Dudley burned almost everything he tried to cook. Things finally slowed down. A tall man with gray hair and a long beard walked in and was seated. Harry walked over to him, not really looking at the man and asked, "What can I get you?"  
  
"What would you reccomend?" said a familiar voice.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore? What are you doing here?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"I was informed of your aunt and uncle's departure and wanted to see how things were going for you and Dudley." He said smiling.  
  
"We're doing alright. Just had to get jobs, but otherwise things aren't so bad. I don't think them being gone for an entire summer could be bad in any country." Harry said.  
  
"Well, that's good. Are you and Dudley getting along?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Pretty good. A lot better than before, anyway. He's really not all that bad ad he generally wants to be friends." Harry said. As the manager made his way over to the table, Harry said loudly, "I reccomend the Pastrami Club." When he was satisfied that the manager was out of ear shot, he said, "I reccomend anything that doesn't need to be cooked, Dudley's having a little trouble." Dumbledore smiled. He ordered a ceasar salad and an ice tea, and Harry went off to fill his order. When he came to pick up the dishes Dumbledore was already gone.  
  
Harry told Dudley about Dumbledore on the way home.  
  
"How odd, he didn't say anything else?" Dudley asked.  
  
"No, nothing really, he was just there and then gone." Harry said in unbelief.  
  
"Huh, well you know Dumbledore. Mystery is a game he's really good at." Dudley said smiling.  
  
When they got home they had a meager dinner and sat, talking, in front of the fire.  
  
"You know, tomorrow we're going to have to pay the bills." Dudley said.  
  
"Yeah, I hope we have enough. I never thought about paying bills when your parents were around." Harry replied.  
  
"They weren't any picnic, but they paid the bills.  
  
After a while they climbed up the stairs and parted ways, each going to their own room. Harry went in his room and fell asleep reading. Dudley lay awake for the majority of the night, thinking about his parents. They must have been extremely upset with him to just leave. Would they even come back? Would he ever see them again? Sure, he was mad at them, but they were his parents. After a while he also fell into a dreamless sleep. 


	24. surprise Guest

Dudley woke to the aroma of frying bacon lingering in his nose. He went into Harry's room and was shocked to find his still asleep.  
  
"Harry, Harry, wake up!" Dudley said as he shook him.  
  
"Wha..what is it?" Harry said trying to hold on to the dream he was having before Dudley came in.  
  
"Harry! Someone's downstairs." Dudley said wide-eyed.  
  
"What?" He sat upright. "Is it your mom and dad?" Harry asked worried.  
  
"I really don't think so." Dudley said. He stood up and grabbed a bat from in the closet. He and Harry inched their way down the stairs and peeked around the corner, what they saw amazed them both.  
  
"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"Harry Potter sir, it is I indeed. Now sit down and eat." Dobby said as two plated hoovered over to the table. They both went over to the table and ate hungrily. Neither had had a good cooked meal since school.  
  
Inbetween mouthfuls, Harry asked, "Dobby...what are you...doing here?"  
  
"Well, Harry Potter sir, Dumbledore thought that you and mister Dudley needed me more than the school did. I was eager to see Harry Potter again." He exclaimed happily, pouring them large glasses of orange juice.  
  
"Dobby, where did you get all this food? We didn't buy any of it." He asked looking at Hrry who shrugged and continued eating.  
  
" Dumbledore sir, he bought the food and paid off all bills until you two sirs can come back to Hogwarts," He asid with a large grin spreading across his face. They both looked at each other and murmured Dumbledore.  
  
"So that's what he was doing yesterday?" Harry said a little unhappily.  
  
"Who cares. Dobby cooks way better than me mum any day!" He said with food in his mouth. "Hey Dobby, there's a dresser full of clothes just waitinf for you in my dad's room." Dobby squeled in delight. After breakfast, Dudley led Dobby ino Vernon and Petunia's bedroom. They had taken a lot of clothes with them, but they had also left a lot behind. "You can have anything in this room that you want." He left Dobby and returned downstairs to talk to Harry. Dobby came trapsing down the stairs in a pair of Vernon's extra large penny loafers, Petunia's pink ang purple floral gardening outfit, three various colored ties, and a bowler hat. Dudley and Harry burst out laughing. No matter what else happened, the picture of Dobby in his weird assorted clothes had made their summer. 


	25. Harry' Birthday

Even though Dumbledore had taken care of the bills and Dobby was there to cook and clean, Dudley and Harry kept their jobs. They worked through the summer. Most of it was pretty uneventful. Dudley and Hermione wrote back and forth, as well as getting letters from other friends, and Harry had recieved and written letters as well. Summer was quickly coming to a close, they still hadn't heard anything of the Dursley's, and it was almost Harry's birthday.  
  
It wasn't in Harry's nature to expect anything for his birthday, so when he and Dudley came home from work and everyone he knew jumped out and yelled "Surprise!" he was quite shaken. "Wha...what are you all doing here?" He asked stuttering in amazement as he looked around. Hermione, Ron and his whole family, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and some other kids from school were all there. There were streamers and Dobby bustled around adding tons of trays of food to an all ready full table.  
  
"You didn't think we'd go and miss your birthday, no did ya?" said George as he slapped him on the back.  
  
"Yeah, did ya?" Fred said also slapping him on the back.  
  
"Well, umm...no, but what are you all doing here?" Harry said again. Mrs. Weasley came over and handed Harry a huge plate of food.  
  
"It was all Dudley's idea. Quite a sweet boy. Oh professor..." She gave him an enveloping hug and headed off towards Dumbledore.  
  
"You didn't have to go and do this," Harry said to Dudley while staring in amazement at all the food he was about to gulp down.  
  
"I know, I wated to, plus it's about time you had a decent birthday." Dudley said shrugging.  
  
"Well," Harry said scratching the back of his neck, "Thank you."  
  
"Don't mention it, now if you'll excuse me there's a large stack of pumpki pasties over there with my name on it." Dudley said as he walked over to the food table and engaged in a conversation with Hermione. After Harry had his fair share of food, Mrs. Weasley came and guided him to the couch. "Present time everyone." She said as everyone came piling gifts around Harry. The Weasley's hade gotten him a very nice set of new cauldrons, "They were on the school list," Mrs. Wealey said blushing.  
  
"They're perfect," Harry said while giving her a kiss on the cheek. From Hermione he got a much expected but welcomed book all about the mysterious creatures that were believed to live in the Forbidden Forrest, from Dudley he got a home quidditch set.  
  
"I thought you could use it to practice with," Dudley said to the look of gratitude on Harry's face.  
  
From Dumbledore he got a miniture pensive, "I thought you could use it to put all the extra knowledge you'll gain this year in," he said with a wink. He got an array of other gifts from muggle money and candy to a wizard's chess set and a new kit for broom management.  
  
Not long after Mrs. Weasley came in from the kitchen with a huge cake, much to the dissatisfaction of Dobby, as everyone bega singing happy birthday. Ron leaned forward and whispered, "Mom wouldn't let him make the cake, she thought it was her official duty to make your birthday cake." They both tried hard not to laugh and when Harry blew out the candles he couldn't think of a wish that could out do today.  
  
When Harry had seen almost all of his friends and Professore Dumbledore and Hagrid out, he tried to help Dobby clean up, but he wouldn't have it.  
  
"First Mrs. Whezzy wont let me make cake, now you trying to take away my job," he said sarcastically to Harry and he burst into laughter but suddenly stopped when a familiar figure apparated into the living room.  
  
"Sirius," Harry yelled as he ran over to him and embraced him.  
  
"Did I miss all the festivities already? Hope there's some food left." He said smiling.  
  
"What are you doing here? Nevermind, I'm glad you came," Harry said as Dudley brought over a heaping plate of food. After he had finished eating, he gave Harry his present which was, too Harry's dissapointment, a cloak. At the look on Harry's face, Sirius said, "It's not just any cloak. It's a magic food cloak. It's directly linked to the kitchen at Hogwart's. All you have to do is think of what you want, reach in your pocket, and there it is. I think it should come in handy if you need a late night snack or when you visit me during the school year."  
  
"It's great," Harry said wrapping his arms around Sirius, "Sirius, you have to stay here with us for the rest of the summer."  
  
"I don't know, what if your aunt and uncle.." he began.  
  
"They won't, come on, please?" Harry begged.  
  
"Well, if it's alright with Dudley , I'll stay." Sirius said. Harry looked pleadingly at Dudley.  
  
"It's fine by me," he said, kind of said that Harry was going to be spending more time with Sirius and less time with him.  
  
"Then it's settled. Come on, you can stay in Vernon's room," he grabbed Sirius's hand and lead him up the stairs leaving Dudley alone with Dobby, who was paying him no mind as he happily went around cleaning up the mess. 


	26. Side Note

Thank you all for the great reviews. Sorry it's taking so long to add to the story, I've been extremely busy. Any ideas are welcome. Keep looking for me to update. 


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